Closing Stages"
by Abigail
Summary: The death of a former loved one sparks Abby to close one stage of her life, reopening her life to new possibilities.


'Closing Stages'  
  
As the winter winds stung at their faces, they humbly kept walking on, towards the light of nowhere. Destiny isn't something that one person believes in at one given moment, then falls out of at another point in time. Time isn't a distinct flash of life, it is an eternity. They had been through it all, never stopping to contradict or cast doubt on their lives together, together as one individual in this central force of this ostentatious universe which we all call `home'. Hand in hand, heart in heart, through it all. Love is such a trying force, it never pauses to halt acceptance by two people who are unified together. They, these two completely and utterly different souls, had firmly came to believe that life cannot be considered a journey, yet a destination.  
  
Interest and curiosity aroused the broad shouldered man, who had gradually sunk into a gentle giant of stature. Pausing for an instant, he turned to the woman he had defined his true love. Tilting his strong, defined chin, he gently released the grasp they had and brushed the stray stand of hair away from her eyes. She knew what he was going to say, she knew what he was going to plea. It was a case she had heard a million times over within the last four days. Quietly, she held a finger to his lips and smiled behind her own inner fears and questions, "Don't say a word, Luka. It will be okay, I promise."  
  
He nodded gently, not in acceptance, but simply in acknowledgment. Nothing he could say or do would prompt her to decide against leaving. It was almost as if the deal on the table had been signed and processed before questions were allowed to be asked. "Why can't I go, Abby? You shouldn't be alone in this time. You know that as well as I do." Luka led her to the edge of the sidewalk, which rambled throughout the park, pulling her down to a park bench.  
  
Abby held her hands in her lap as she looked cautiously at the cracked concrete which her feet rest upon. "Luka, this is something that I must do on my own. I don't expect you to understand, I don't expect anyone to understand." A heavy, weary sigh rose from her lungs, seeping through her entire body as she released. "Luka, I just need you to love me, care for me, be there for me. That's all I need right now."  
  
He pulled her closer, gently whispering in her ear, "Abby, I'll always be here for you, no matter what."  
  
**********  
  
Four days earlier, Abby's life had been turned upside down. Leaving her to feel as if she had been pulled through hell and back, coming up on the short side of the effects.  
  
The day had started out the same as usual. The daily routine she had came as a constant reminder as to how boring, yet comforting, her life had became. Luka had already left their apartment, working the early shift. Not having to be at work until 9:00, Abby had quietly lapped in the hour of silence, leaving the time spent entirely up to her and no one else. As the minutes quickly went by, she found herself driving to work, almost unaware as to how she had gotten in her Explorer in the first place. That is the way it always had been, at least since her and Luka had announced their dedication to each other. This dedication had came at a price but in the long run, it had been worth it. Since then, the uneventful days passed but she never yearned for excitement.  
  
County was quiet that day, with little or no patients pouring in. The winter months came with uncertainty. Some days it seemed as if hundreds of alleged ill-fated people streamed into the ER, while other days, it appeared as if no one wanted to muster the strength to grace the medical teams with their presence. Her shift was nothing to write home about. The high point of her day was the single minute she had alone with Luka in the lounge. That had been interrupted by Carter, though, who pleaded his case to her with a hint of interest, although she cared very little. He was a doctor, one could have believed he was capable of changing the IV bag for the elderly man in Exam Room 4.  
  
Abby's uneventful day took a dramatic change, however, when the phone rang at the admit desk, prompting her deterioration of logical thought.  
  
"Abby, phone!" Frank leaned back in his comfortable throne, as he held the phone out for her.  
  
"Who is it, Frank?"  
  
"I dunno, do I look like your personal answering service?" Thrusting the phone her way, Abby took it in a dramatic fashion, rolling her eyes at the same time.  
  
Abby took hold of the receiver and turned her back to Frank. "Hello?"  
  
"Is this Mrs. Richard Lockhart?" The voice of a tired man echoed through the lines.  
  
Abby hesitated a moment, "Well…I am the former Mrs. Richard Lockhart. Who is this?"  
  
The sound of a voice clearing taunted Abby's ear. "The `former' Mrs. Richard Lockhart? So, you two are not currently together anymore, correct?"  
  
At this point in time Abby's fuse was running short, "No, sir, we have been separated for some time. Divorced. No longer married. What does he want from me now? Huh? Who are you and why are you calling me at work?" The sound of a chair swiveling reached Abby and she spun around, giving Frank the death look. He quickly got up and began squiring charts, half listening to her conversation.  
  
"Divorced? Does Richard…Mr. Lockhart, have any immediate family, Mrs. Lockhart?"  
  
"Miss Lockhart," Abby stressed. Sighing heavily, she spoke, "No, he doesn't. What is the point of this call?"  
  
"No aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings?" Stress hung on the man's voice as impatience overcame him.  
  
"Look, whatever Richard has done, I don't want a part of it. He has no family, which seems to suit him just fine." Abby relaxed the muscles in her neck, swaying her head side-to-side. "I have work to do."  
  
"I realize that, Miss Lockhart. However, I am in dyer need to contact a close relative of Mr. Lockhart. So far, you have been the only person I have been able to locate. It wasn't easy, either, believe me."  
  
"What is your point?" Abby felt the presence of eyes upon her as she spoke.  
  
"Miss Lockhart, I am Investigator Hamilton. There has been an accident. We need someone to…well…Mr. Lockhart was in an accident." A small sigh came across as he spoke, instantly showing signs of relieved stress.  
  
Abby turned to face the counter, using it as support. "An accident? I'm sorry Investigator but I don't quite understand what you are talking about here."  
  
"Mr. Lockhart was involved in an automobile accident early this morning. It appears as if he fell asleep at the wheel. His car veered over the center lane and struck a median, causing his vehicle to become air born. It landed approximately one to one hundred and fifty feet away, where upon it did multiple end-over-end flips." A pause followed, as if he was both allowing Abby to gather her thoughts and allowing himself to obtain the courage to utter the next words. "I'm sorry Miss Lockhart, he was killed instantly. We have been attempting to locate family since we found his personal ID. You were the first, and only, person we have been able to find."  
  
An instant of pain, confusion, and lack of understanding swept over Abby. She tried to gather her thoughts, controlling her breathing, and questioning herself why she appeared to be so overtaken by the news.  
  
"Miss Lockhart? Ma'am, are you there?" The Investigator's words awoke her from a dreary dream.  
  
"Ye…yes, I'm here. Sorry." She drifted again, regaining slowly her whereabouts. "What…what do you want me to do?" Gaining more strength, she fought back, "I told you, we are no longer together. We…we are divorced."  
  
Once more, the familiar sound of a sigh swept across the phone line. "I realize that Miss Lockhart, however, in a situation such as this, you are the unfortunate person who the responsibility of…well, taking care of matters falls upon. Unless, of course, you wish for the body to become a ward of the state. Then, we will simply present a simply burial process."  
  
"No…no, I'll take care of it. Somehow." Abby shut her eyes. Why was this happening to her? Richard. Just like him, the blame. "I'll send money for a burial. Who do I need to wire it to?"  
  
"Umm..ma'am, it's not that easy. Mr. Lockhart's belongings will need to be properly taken care of. We can take over of those, however, if you wish. It's not as easy as wiring a few thousand dollars to us, Miss Lockhart, there is more involved."  
  
A few thousand? How much was Richard worth? Hush. "Of course I realize it's not that easy, sir." Shaking her head in a sign of strain, she spoke, "I don't know when I can go. I have work." Richard's estate was at least an hour out of Chicago. Not fully aware of what all was entailed in the procedure, she didn't know how long she would be away. "I guess, I'll be there…" It was Tuesday, she couldn't leave work in the middle of the week. Saturday would be the earliest she could go. Could he last…no, get that thought out of her mind. "The earliest I can arrive would be Saturday, Investigator."  
  
"Saturday? Ma'am, that's stretching it." A moment of silence followed, as if he was bargaining with himself. "Saturday is fine. No later, though, please. I will contact you Friday to make sure everything is in order. Until then, we will lock up and patrol Mr. Lockhart's estate and continue looking for relatives."  
  
"You won't find any," Abby replied automatically. "I'll see you Saturday." With no further word or wait of a response, she hung up. Every nerve in her body ached with fear. Fear? What was she afraid of. She wasn't scared, she was…upset. Upset over Richard?  
  
Abby immediately hung up the phone, ignoring Frank's pressing looks of curiosity. "Get your own life, Frank," Abby muttered as she headed into the lounge.  
  
Shoving the door to the lounge open, she was startled to find Luka sitting at the table going over charts. He immediately looked up and a look of concern flashed over his face. "Abby, what's wrong?"  
  
She pushed the comment aside, "I have to go out of town. I'm leaving Saturday. Not far, just an hour away. I…I have business to take of." Ambling towards the couch, Abby flopped down and sat her head in her hands.  
  
Luka turned his chair, facing her. "What happened, Abby? Business? Why do you need to leave town?"  
  
She peered up, looking into Luka's dark eyes, faded over with confusion. "Luka, Richard…my ex…"  
  
Luka interrupted her, "I know who Richard is."  
  
She brushed his comment aside. "There was an accident. An accident." Standing up abruptly, she put her right hand upon her hip and her left hand reached for her forehead. "He was killed. Richard was killed. He's gone and he left me to clean up his mess." Abby began pacing about the floor. "I have to go to Urving to settle his estate papers and his burial. Lord knows how long that will take. If I know Richard, and I do, the man hasn't got anything in order. I'll have to figure out what to do with everything. What am I going to do with the house?"  
  
Stopping, her eyes hit the floor. "Luka, why do I have to do this?"  
  
Luka stood up, meeting her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he steadied her gaze. "Where is his family, Abby? Why do you have to deal with this?"  
  
"Family? Family?? Ha!" Abby's hysterical stage sat in. "He has no family. His father died when he was five. Richard's mother passed away of cancer ten years ago. He was an only child, his mother never saw the reason in remarrying. He has no aunts or uncles I know about. In the time we were married, I never heard or saw of any. The only person on his side of the family that was present for our marriage was his mother and a few of his college buddies. They were only good for getting drunk and having sex." Calming down, Abby looked straight at Luka, "That's why we got along so well, Luka. We both were alone."  
  
She gave up, falling apart. "Why am I crying? I don't even love the man! He…he never did anything for me."  
  
Luka soothed his love the best he could, muttering simply sounds sympathy. "Don't worry Abby, we will handle it. Together. I'm here."  
  
Abby nodded, "It doesn't matter, Luka. The man wasn't good for anything except leading people on, messing up their lives, and hurting them. Now, he's gone and look at me, instead of standing on the table shouting for joy, I am crying."  
  
Luka sighed, "Abby, you wouldn't stand on the table shouting for joy, you'd stand on the admit desk and start singing `Hallelujah'."  
  
A small laugh escaped from Abby, "Oh, Luka, you are awful."  
  
"I know, that's why we go so well together."  
  
***********  
  
The sun rose high above the tops of the skyscrapers, draping the windy city in a shadow of warmth. Abby had been awake since five, with sleep being almost impossible for her to command. Her bags were packed, they had been since the day she had received the phone call.  
  
Another small sip of her coffee and it would be time to go. Life had changed since Tuesday. Some how, that call had been a wake-up signal to Abby. It had knocked her off guard, hitting her unexpectedly. The fact she even cared was hard enough for Abby to obtain in her thoughts. She didn't yearn for Richard, she just felt sorry for him. She had moved on, found her true love. Richard…he got nothing. A year ago, Abby wouldn't have thought twice about his death or the idea. Abby had grown, though. Luka had changed her. She had exited one stage of her life and was beginning another.  
  
Hanging up the phone with the cab company, Abby trudged down the hallway. Slowly opening the door to their room, Abby peeked in on Luka. He was still sound asleep and she hated to wake him. Sliding cautiously across the floor, she stood above Luka and gazed down upon him. He looked so sweet, innocent. Bending down, she swept a small kiss across his forehead. He had been the best thing to happen to her in a long time.  
  
Leaving the note she had written to Luka on his nightstand beside his alarm clock, she took one last look and headed out of the room. Down the hallway, she checked the heaters and flipped the lights off in the kitchen. Stopping at the door, she gathered her items and took one last look. It wasn't a look of sadness but one to remember the area until she returned. It wasn't even as if she would be gone forever, either, just a moment in time. Time…  
  
Shutting the front door behind her, Abby checked to make sure it was locked, then headed down the steps of their building. Her Explored waited for her at the curb. Much to Luka's disagreement, she was going to drive. It was only an hour away, she had argued. Besides, she needed the time alone.  
  
Tossing her bags beside in the back, Abby climbed into the front seat. Taking a quick look into the window that belonged to their room, she smiled, knowing the love of her life was safe inside.  
  
**********  
  
The trip to Urving had been casual, no hurry needed. Arriving before ten, Abby got a room at the local hotel and dropped her bags in the room. A small, quaint town, Urving offered little to the American tourist. No wonder Richard had settled there. A small town where he could rule the roost.  
  
After getting directions to the police station, Abby decided to walk. She had had enough driving for one day. An hour in a car was more than she could take, given it had only been an hour.  
  
The police station had been easy to find, standing tall in the center of town. Stepping through the overstated glass doors, she made her way down the dank and musty hallway. Pausing at the receptionist area, she asked for Investigator Hamilton. Immediately, a tall, older man stood from a desk and headed towards Abby.  
  
"I'm Investigator Hamilton. You must be Miss Lockhart."  
  
Abby nodded silently, taking in her surroundings. "Yes, I'm here… well, I assume you know why I am here."  
  
He nodded in return, "This way, please." They retreated to his desk, where he pulled chair out for her. "I'm sorry we had to met on these circumstances."  
  
Abby spoke up, "I seriously doubt we would have met any other way, Investigator."  
  
He gave a small smile, "Of course not." After a moment of pause, he began again, "Now, the business of Mr. Lockhart. He is currently at the local funeral home. No arrangements have been made; however, I assume they will be limited to a simply burial service. Mr. Lockhart wasn't well known around here. He did most of his business in Chicago. As a matter of fact, he rarely stayed at his house. He apparently stayed in the city most of the week. As far as his assets go, they will all be either sent to you or you can hand them over to the state. Either way, it matters not to me."  
  
Abby questioned him, "Me? Mr. Hamilton…Investigator, we are divorced. I want or need nothing he has."  
  
"Still, I think you should go to the house. Look over things. However, it's only a suggestion."  
  
Abby nodded, "Right now, I simply want to arrange the burial."  
  
Agreeing, he spoke, "Right, the funeral home is down the street one block. You can't miss it, largest house…estate, with the exception of Mr. Lockhart's, in the town. Katinger Funeral Home. They are expecting you."  
  
"Great," Abby muttered.  
  
Standing slowly, Abby paused, "You didn't know Richard, did you?"  
  
Investigator Hamilton shook his head gently, "No, I never did. Like I said, ma'am, he stayed to himself."  
  
"It's just as well, he wasn't much of a man to know." Abby began walking away from the Investigator's desk, then turned, "Then again, no one deserves to die that way."  
  
The tall man stood solitary and simply nodded, leaving himself to be recognized much as the silent type. "Take care, Miss Lockhart."  
  
A meek smile in a sign of responding struck Abby's face, "I'll do that."  
  
************  
  
Funeral arrangements went more smoothly than she assumed they would. The director had everything laid out. They both decided it would be best for him to be buried in the adjoining town with his mother. Arrangements were set up for the transfer. The most difficult part was deciding upon a casket and headstone. Abby settled upon on a simple casket, gray with sterling silver outline and simple engraving of ivy leaves and an ordinary headstone engraved with his name, birth, date of death, and matching ivy leaves. The funeral director seemed to agree and decisions of payments were made.  
  
Abby left the home feeling tired and drained. It was already past six in the afternoon and she was hungry, in need of a shower, and a good bed. Worst of all, she ached for the sound and touch of Luka.  
  
Passing up the small café' on the corner, Abby decided to simply go to her hotel room and take a shower and head for bed. She'd catch a good breakfast in the morning, which she knew she would need in order to go through Richard's house.  
  
Pausing at the door of the hotel, she looked around the quiet town. Nothing or no one stirred. No birds sang, no wind swept across the landscape. It was oddly comforting. As Abby headed up the flight of stairs to her room on the second floor, she took in her surroundings. The hotel was an old Victorian house, unusual to the area. It was decorated in simplistic style, with pale blue wallpaper and heavy ivory carpet. Small pictures of various wooded areas decorated the walls.  
  
Fumbling in her purse to locate her key, she found it nestled underneath her wallet. Slowly inserting the brass object into the doorknob, Abby took in a deep breath. It had been a long day and all she wanted now was peace and quiet.  
  
Gently forcing the door open, Abby reached inside and flipped on the light switch before stepping into the room. Shading her eyes to adjust to the bright light, she instantly spotted the black leather duffle bag sitting just inside the door. A wave of anxiety swept across her as her eyes swept the room and landed instinctively upon the man of her dreams.  
  
"Did you really think I was going to let you come here by yourself, Abby?" Luka smiled broadly and outreached his hands in offering.  
  
A speechless Abby dropped her purse and smiled, "I'm glad you didn't." She shut the door and crept across the room, afraid if she made a startling move she would awake from the vision.  
  
Stopping before him, she laid her hands upon either shoulder and peered into his eyes. He grinned gently, "Hi."  
  
Leaning forward to be at eye level, she met his stare, "Hi." 


End file.
